ICONES FILICUM SINIGARUM 



*>7 



PLATE 48. 



NEOCHEIROPTERIS PALMATOPEDATA (Baker) Christ 



POLYPODIACEAE 





NEOCHEIROPTERIS PALM ATOPE DATA (Baker) Christ in Bull. Soc. Bot. Fr. 52; Mem. I. 21 



(1905) C. Chr. Ind. 432 (1906). 



■ 



P oly podium palm atop edahim Baker in Kew Bull. (1895) 232. 



Cheiropteris henryi Christ in Bull. Boiss. 6; 876 (1898); Diels in Nat. Pfl. Fam. I. 4. 189. 



fig. 98 (1902). 

 Cheiropteris palmatopedata Christ in Bull. Boiss. 7: 21. t. I (1899); 





Rhizome epigenous, wide-creeping, about 7 mm. thick, clothed in large lanceolate, 

 cuspidate membranaceous sordid brown imbricate ciliate dense scales; stipes distant, 30- 

 45 cm. long, stiff, naked throughout, stramineous, teret underneath, deeply 3-striate 

 above; frond flabellate-quadrate pedate-palmatifid, base cuneate, 25-30 cm. long and 

 broad or broader; texture chartaceous, green and glabrous above,, sparsely clothed with 

 minute brown scales beneath; segments 10-20 cm. long, upright, lanceolate, slightly 

 imbricate, the middle ones 17-20 cm. long, 2.5-3 cm - broad, the lateral ones much 

 smaller, margin entire; costa prominently raised below and less so above, veins anasto- 

 mosing into small hexagonal areolae; sori superficial, usually confined to the lower half 

 of the segments, the outermost segments sterile or at best sparsely soriferous, close to 

 the costa, the lower ones oblong or linear-oblong, the upper ones globose. 



Distribution: Yunnan, Szechwan. 



This unique fern was first discovered by Pere Delavay in the mountains in 

 Ta-ping-tze, Yunnan, September 4th. 1883, and by A Henry at Mile in the same 

 province about fifteen years later, but it was the latter's specimens which received the 

 first attention from Baker, who called it Poly podium palmatopedatum, while the 

 former's specimen remained unkown in the Museum d'histoire naturelle de Paris 

 until about 1905 when it was identified by Christ, who changed his Cheiropteris 

 palmatopedata to the present name 1 . This fern must be considered as one of the most 

 outstanding additions to our Chinese flora, discovered by early European botanical 

 explorer in this country. As already quite thoroughly discussed by Christ 2 , the 

 present fern is entitled a systematic place between Dipteris and Polypodium § Pleopeltis, 

 both of which are represented in Yunnan by their respective members growing side 

 by side with our species there. However, the plant differs from either of its relatives 

 in large elongated costal sori and, particularly, in the broad and incrassate receptacle, 

 formed by the dilatation by the dorsal part of the costal viens, on which the sorus 



is borne. 



Plate 48. Fig. 1. Habit sketch (natural size). 2. A portion of segment, showing venation 

 and sori (x 3). 3. Sporangium (x 90). 4. Scales from rhizome (x 40) 



1. Cheiropteris was preoccupied in Kurr, Gen. Palaentologique. 



2. Bull. Boiss. 7: 21. 2. 1899. 



